Inaugural Northern Province T20 Cricket Tournament

One of Sri Lanka’s largest renewable energy (dendro power) companies – Aakash Group gave sports enthusiasts of Northern Sri Lanka a once in a lifetime opportunity to showcase their talent, during its Inaugural Northern Province T20 Cricket Tournament, the grand finale of which was held on 14 January at Urban Council Playground, Vavuniya.

Thirty-two teams battled in the T20 cricket match for the Aakash Champion Trophy along with accolades for the champion team, the runner-ups, man of the match, man of the series, best bowler, and best batsman.

Semi-final matches were held on Saturday 13 January with four teams between Kalaimagal team and the Vavuniya Police team and between St. Joseph’s and the Unified Sports Club.

The first 16-over semi-final between Kalaimagal and Police teams was drawn with Police scoring 96 for 9 andKalaimagal mustering 96 (all out). However the Police managed to win the match during the super over. After the fascinating first match, St. Joseph’s team faced Unified Sports Club where the latter team scored 140 for 4 the former (St. Joseph’s) could only Score 97 for 7 wickets.

The grand finale on Sunday started with a friendly match with between the Aakash Group staff led by Chairman and Managing Director of the company S. Ramasubramanian and the indigenous Veddah people, which was the highlight of the whole tournament.

In the end, the indigenous people’s team emerged winners garnering 60/5 in 6 overs, defeating the Aakash team which managed to score 55/4 in 8 overs.

In the much-awaited finals, the Police team won the toss and selected to bat first. During its 20 overs, the Police team scored 187 losing only five wickets. Nishantha 97 (not out), Duminda 33, Indika 36. Bowling - Anushanth 1 wicket for 12 runs and Maudsan 1 for 39. The Unified team though chasing in a brilliant manner was able to garner all out for 141 (17 overs) (Rushanthan 57, Anushanth 20, and Maudsan 13). Rasika and Dissanayake of the Police managed to garner 3 wickets each, giving only 19 and 14 runs, respectively.

With its amazing performance, the Police team carried away the coveted champion trophy and the cash price of Rs 300,000. The runner-up trophy and cash prize of Rs 100,000 was won by Unified team. Man of the Match (Rs 50,000) was won by Nishanthan and Vijayalath (both Police) grabbed Best Bowler (Rs 25,000), whilst the Man of the Series (Rs 75,000) and Best Batsman (Rs 25,000) were both clinched by Rushanthan (Unified). Vanni Range DIG Deshabandu Tennakoon patronized the grand finale as its chief guest and was accorded a warm welcome complete with traditional Tamil dances. Vavuniya District SSP T. M. N. S. Tennakoon, ASP-Vanni District Piyasiri Fernando and Vavuniya HqI CI Mahinda Villoarachchi were also in attendance.